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"Half the Battle" Characters
These characters appear in the short work "Half the Battle". Owing to the very simple nature of the piece, they have been placed on a single page. Billi Billi was the Space Minister for the Namerican Empire. He was approached by Claud, the Commandant of the Technology Recovery Section, for approval in developing a faster than light drive for spaceships. Billi initially balked at the idea because of the standard wisdom that FTL drive was a physical impossibility until he was convinced by a discovery made under ruins left by the Burning. Billi was Space Minister about three generations after King Burger ruled. Byron of Canoga King Bryon was the ruler of the small kingdom of Canoga in Ellay two centuries after the Burning. When his scribe, Pedro approached him with stories of an ancient gun that could spit bullets in rapid succession, rather than dismiss him, he ordered him to look into the possibility to recreate the device. This led to him eventually gaining sovereignty over the duchy of Pacoim. During Bryon's father's time, engineers had recovered the technology to build a lathe from similar sources. Burger of SoCal King Burger of SoCal was the son of King Bryon of Canoga. He continued his father's twin policies of conquest and retrieval of pre-Burning technology, leading him to expand his realm far beyond Canoga until he ruled all of Ellay. During Burger's reign, King Bryon was seen by many to be little more than a robber chieflet. Technological advances during King Burger's included the Messerschmitt, created by mounting Gatling gun on airplanes, and the launch of the first space shuttle, the landing of which Burger attended with Jorj, the chief archivist. Burger's military conquests laid the foundation of the Namerican Empire. Literary note His name appears to be a pun on the fast food restaurant chain Burger King. Captain of the Claud Like the engineer Gomery, the captain of the Namerican starship ''Claud'' was sad that the original Claud was not present to see the ship bearing his name, but assured Gomery that Claud was watching in the lap of the gods, cheering the ship on. He then ordered the ship to go at warp 3 on its maiden voyage, stating that the ship would not "go too boldly" at first. Claud Claud was the Commandant of the Technology Recovery Section in the Namerican Empire three generations after King Burger ruled. He brought photocopies of pre-Burning texts to Space Minister Billi indicating the possibility of faster than light travel in an attempt to make interstellar space crafts. Claud was able to convince his skeptical boss and after his death, the first Namerican starship was named in his honor. Dorland Dorland was a librarian in the service of Burger of SoCal. Working with his longtime friend, Jenk, Dorland proposed the use of alcohol as a fuel for the Messerschmitt the men were re-creating for use in the war against Vegas. Gomery Gomery was the chief engineer on the Namerican Empire's first starship, the ''Claud''. He set the ship at Warp 3 on its maiden voyage. The ship's captain assured Gomery that the ship "won't go too boldly at first." Literary comment Gomery appears to be named after the character [https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Montgomery_Scott Mont'gomery' Scott], chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise on the original Star Trek TV series. Jenk Jenk was an engineer in the court of King Burger of SoCal. He was given the task of creating a lighter engine for use in heavier than air vehicles that would be strong enough to carry Gatling gun on the airplanes. For the basis of his experimentation, he used plans for a Messerschmitt that were uncovered by the librarian Dorland. Jorj Jorj was the chief archivist for the kingdom of SoCal. In a kingdom which valued the wisdom of the civilization from before the Burning he was important, as was his recognition of the importance of a book discovered in the ruins of the Zona which led to the re-creation of a space shuttle. Pedro Pedro was a scribe to King Bryon in the post-Burning kingdom of Canoga. While doing research into ancient texts, Pedro came across a device called a Gatling, which could spit bullets in rapid succession. Although Bryon didn't initially believe the reports, after Pedro showing him a picture of the device, Pedro was allowed to pursue its manufacture. The creation of the Gatling allowed Canoga to overtake the duchy of Pacoim. Rico of Pacoim Duke Rico was the ruler of the duchy of Pacoim in Ellay. Rico's army was larger and better-armed than that of King Bryon of nearby Canoga. Bryon pursued research into the Gatling gun, leading to the defeat and incorporation of Pacoim into Canoga. *